Maynard Ferguson

梅納·佛格森一九二八年五月四日生于加拿大蒙特婁，十三歲開始在加拿大廣播公司的樂團吹奏小喇叭，一九四五年，佛格森十七歲時，當上他自己樂團的團長。他一生錄了六十多張專輯，得過無數(shù)音樂獎，且曾經因為暢銷樂曲“Gonna Fly Now”（馬上翱翔）在西爾維斯特·史泰龍(Sylvester Stallone)主演的“洛基”(Rocky)系列電影被用為配樂，而在葛萊美獎中被提名。
by Scott Yanow
When he debuted with Stan Kentons Orchestra in 1950, Maynard Ferguson could play higher than any other trumpeter up to that point in jazz history, and he was accurate. Somehow he kept most of that range through his career and since the 1970s has been one of the most famous musicians in jazz. Never known for his exquisite taste (some of his more commercial efforts are unlistenable), Ferguson nevertheless led some important bands and definitely made an impact with his trumpet playing.
After heading his own big band in Montreal, Ferguson came to the United States in 1949 with hopes of joining Kentons orchestra, but that ensemble had just recently broke up. So instead, Ferguson gained experience playing with the big bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, and Charlie Barnet. In 1950, with the formation of Kentons Innovations Orchestra, Ferguson became a star, playing ridiculous high notes with ease. In 1953, he left Kenton to work in the studios of Los Angeles and three years later led the all-star Birdland Dreamband. In 1957, he put together a regular big band that lasted until 1965, recorded regularly for Roulette (all of the bands recordings with that label are on a massive Mosaic box set) and performed some of the finest music of Fergusons career. Such players as Slide Hampton, Don Ellis, Don Sebesky, Willie Maiden, John Bunch, Joe Zawinul, Joe Farrell, Jaki Byard, Lanny Morgan, Rufus Jones, Bill Berry, and Don Menza were among the more notable sidemen.
After economics forced him to give up the impressive band, Ferguson had a few years in which he was only semi-active in music, spending time in India and eventually forming a new band in England. After moving back to the U.S., Ferguson in 1974 drifted quickly into commercialism. Young trumpeters in high school and colleges were amazed by his high notes, but jazz fans were dismayed by the tasteless recordings that resulted in hit versions of such songs as the themes from Star Wars and Rocky and much worse. After cutting back on his huge orchestra in the early 80s, Ferguson recorded some bop in a 1983 session, led a funk band called High Voltage during 1987-1988, and then returned to jazz with his Big Bop Nouveau Band, a medium-sized outfit with which he toured the world up until his death from kidney and liver failure on August 23, 2006.